Search Results (153)

Pinus yunnanensis Franch. is a native pioneer and economically important tree in Yunnan Province in China. In this study, over 1400 annual seedlings were used. Following national or regional official seedling quality standards, seedlings were classified into three grades, namely Grade I, Grade II, and Grade III by using mean ± 1/2 standard deviation method according to the height of seedlings (H ± 1/2σ). Morphological traits including seedling height, ground-line diameter, root length, and root average diameter were measured from September 2022 to December 2023 for each grade. A power-law allometric growth model was constructed, and the standardized major axis method was used to analyze the allometric relationships between plant height and ground-line diameter as well as between root length and root average diameter. The results showed that higher grade seedlings exhibited stronger synergistic plasticity, accelerating allometric growth and enhancing phenotypic plasticity. A significant positive correlation was found between plant height and ground-line diameter growth rates, with ground-line diameter showing greater plasticity. Grade I seedlings demonstrated clear advantages, with mean allometric rates of 0.5860 for plant height versus ground-line diameter and 1.6315 for root length versus root system. The phenotypic plasticity index for ground-line diameter was high across all three grades, but actual thickening varied by grade due to different initial diameters, with Grade I and II seedlings growing much more than Grade III. For plant height, the index ranged from 0.3 to 0.8, with values of 0.6–0.7 for Grade I, 0.3–0.7 for Grade II, and 0.6–0.8 for Grade III. These findings provide a scientific basis for evaluating seedling quality, breeding, reproduction, and improving survival and growth in later-stage afforestation. Full article

Quantitative phenotyping of pepper seedlings is important for greenhouse plug tray seedling cultivation, but it remains constrained by inefficient manual monitoring, complex greenhouse backgrounds, and growth-stage-dependent discrepancies between two-dimensional image traits and actual leaf biomass. In this study, a cascaded vision framework with stage-specific morphological correction was developed for nondestructive seedling phenotyping. The framework integrated Visual Dynamic Momentum YOLO (VDM-YOLO) for individual seedling localization and growth-stage recognition, Variance Guided Strip Ghost Gated UNet (VSG-UNet) for lightweight, high-resolution leaf segmentation, and a stage-aware correction model for leaf dry biomass estimation. In performance evaluation, VDM-YOLO achieved a mean average precision at an intersection over union threshold of 0.5 (mAP_0.5) of 89.27%, improving mAP_0.5 by 1.82 percentage points over YOLOv12. VSG-UNet achieved a mean intersection over union (mIoU) of 83.9% and a Dice coefficient of 81.8%, while reducing floating point operations (FLOPs) and parameters by 44.2% and 61.2%, respectively, compared with U-Net. After stage-aware calibration, the coefficient of determination (R²) between segmented area and leaf dry weight increased from 0.764 to 0.813, and the root mean square error (RMSE) decreased from 0.0210 g to 0.0190 g. These results demonstrated that the proposed framework provided a proof of concept approach based on RGB images for the nondestructive assessment of leaf area and leaf dry biomass in pepper seedlings under restricted experimental conditions. Full article

Global climate change and soil salinization pose challenges to licorice cultivation. Evaluating seed vigor based on the dynamic changes in radicle morphology is crucial for screening and cultivating licorice varieties that are tolerant to low temperatures and salts. Traditional manual measurement of licorice radicle characteristics suffers from issues such as high cost, long time consumption, and large errors. The YOLOv11 instance segmentation model in the field of deep learning offers advantages including a simple architecture, strong lightweight properties, and a unified detection-segmentation framework. Therefore, this study selected the YOLOv11 model to build a deep learning framework and used the continuous time-series crop growth vitality monitoring system to collect full-time-series images of 18 groups of licorice seeds germinating under different temperature and salt stress conditions. The YOLOv11-seg model was improved by adding a Spatial Strip Attention mechanism (SSA) to enhance the spatial correlation of radicle features, replacing ordinary convolutions with a Multi-scale Edge Detail Enhancement Module (MEEM) to optimize multi-scale feature extraction capabilities, and embedding a Normalized Weighted Distance (NWD) loss function to strengthen the segmentation ability for tiny targets. The YOLOv11-LicoSeg model was constructed for segmenting and extracting licorice radicle features and calculating root length. The experimental results showed that the mAP50 of the model’s detection reached 97.4%, mAP50–95 reached 81.7%, the mAP50 of the segmentation mask reached 97.0%, and mAP50–95 reached 78.2%. Compared with the unimproved YOLOv11-seg, the mAP50 of detection increased by 0.7%, mAP50–95 increased by 1.3%, the mAP50 of segmentation increased by 0.7%, and mAP50–95 increased by 0.8%. The linear regression coefficient between manual measurement and machine-vision measurement was 0.94218, and the goodness of fit R² was 0.94408. Using this model and the monitoring system, the morphological evolution of the licorice radicle contour characteristics over the germination time was obtained. The study indicated that the growth of licorice radicles was optimal under salt stress of 1200 µs/cm and 1800 µs/cm. YOLOv11-LicoSeg accurately segmented licorice radicles and calculated radicle length, with the performance to segment 100 licorice radicle images within 7 s. After deployment, it significantly reduced the labor cost and time consumption for acquiring licorice radicle phenotypes. In conclusion, YOLOv11-LicoSeg provides a rapid and accurate method for variety screening in licorice breeding and cultivation. Full article

Micro- and nanoplastics (MPs/NPs) are increasingly recognized as persistent contaminants in agricultural systems, where repeated inputs from mulch films, biosolids, composts, irrigation water, and atmospheric deposition create sustained exposure pathways for crops. Although various studies report effects on crop growth and physiology, mechanistic interpretation remains limited because outcomes vary widely across experiments and are often discussed without appropriate attention to exposure context, particle properties, and evidentiary strength. This review advances an agroecosystem-centered, evidence-aware framework for interpreting how MPs/NPs influence crops from environmental entry to plant phenotype. We argue that crop responses cannot be inferred from polymer identity alone, but must be interpreted through the interacting effects of particle size, morphology, surface chemistry, weathering state, aggregation behavior, co-contaminant associations, and exposure matrix. Within this framework, crop responses are organized along a mechanistic chain linking environmental entry and plant contact, interface behavior at root and leaf surfaces, conditional barrier crossing and transport, ROS-centered stress signaling with hormonal and ionic regulation, and downstream effects on germination, root function, photosynthesis, biomass, productivity, and quality-related traits. Particular emphasis is placed on distinguishing surface association, supported internalization, and supported systemic translocation, because these categories carry distinct implications for edible-tissue occurrence, crop quality, and food-system relevance. Current evidence suggests that the soil–plant–food pathway is plausible and increasingly supported, but its interpretation remains constrained by uneven analytical rigor and limited field realism. Future progress will require realistic agricultural exposure designs, stronger polymer-specific confirmation, and closer integration of mechanistic evidence with agronomic and food-system endpoints. Full article

Olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation has been widely shown to support axonal regeneration, remyelination, and functional recovery after central nervous system injury; however, autologous approaches are limited by low cell yields from patient biopsies, which may be insufficient for large spinal cord lesions. This study evaluated whether cryopreservation could provide a scalable alternative by preserving the therapeutic potential of mucosa-derived OECs. Using a rat dorsal root injury model, cryopreserved mucosa-derived OECs (CmOECs) were thawed and assessed for viability, phenotype, and efficacy following transplantation. Although total viable cell yield was reduced compared with primary cultures, the relative proportion of OECs remained stable, and cells retained characteristic morphology and marker expression in vitro. In vivo, transplantation of CmOECs resulted in significant functional recovery in climbing and forepaw fault tasks compared with injured controls, with outcomes comparable to primary mucosal OEC transplantation. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed the survival and integration of transplanted cells at the dorsal root entry zone, alongside evidence of axonal regeneration and astrocytic remodeling. These findings demonstrate that mucosa-derived OECs retain therapeutic efficacy following cryopreservation and support the development of standardized OEC biobanks as a scalable strategy for spinal cord repair. Full article

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is an essential food, forage, and bioenergy crop that plays an irreplaceable role in modern agricultural supply systems and daily life. However, the traditional cultivation varieties, characterized by tall stems, low planting density and large panicles, are incompatible with the requirements of modern intensive agriculture for high-density planting, mechanized harvesting, and efficient resource utilization. Therefore, cultivating an ideotype suitable for mechanized harvesting is the most urgent and practical need for sorghum breeding. This paper systematically reviews the key components of the sorghum ideotype and their physiological basis, focusing on traits such as canopy structure, stalk characteristics, panicle traits, and root systems. Then, the major genes and molecular mechanisms that regulate plant height, stem strength, leaf morphology, and panicle type are described in detail. Additionally, current breeding challenges, including gene pleiotropy, trade-offs among traits, narrow genetic diversity, and limitations in phenotypic identification techniques, are summarized. Finally, we propose modern breeding strategies involving multi-omics approaches, high-throughput phenotyping, gene editing, and computational modeling to advance sorghum breeding into the design era. This will enable the simultaneous improvement in light use efficiency, lodging resistance, and adaptation to mechanized production. Full article

Background and Objectives: Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a common congenital cardiac abnormality frequently associated with aortopathy and progressive aortic dilatation. The 2021 International consensus statement introduced standardized phenotypic definitions for BAV and BAV-associated aortopathy. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of BAV and BAV-associated aortopathy phenotypes according to the 2021 consensus statement and to assess statistical differences between imaging modalities (magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE)) in aortic diameter measurements. Materials and Methods: This single-center retrospective study included 47 patients with BAV between 2014 and 2018. Aortic root and ascending aorta diameters were measured using MRI white-blood and black-blood sequences and TTE. BAV morphology and aortopathy phenotypes were classified according to the 2021 International consensus recommendations, and agreement between modalities was assessed using correlation and Bland–Altman analysis. Results: The study population had a mean age of 30 ± 11.05 years, with a male-to-female ratio of approximately 3.3:1. The fused BAV phenotype was the most prevalent (53.2%), followed by the partial-fusion (38.3%) and two-sinus (8.5%) phenotypes (p < 0.001). Aortopathy phenotypes assessed by MRI and TTE demonstrated similar distribution patterns, with the extended phenotype being the most frequent, followed by ascending and root phenotypes, with no significant difference between modalities (p = 0.74). Strong correlations were observed across all imaging techniques for both ascending aorta and aortic root measurements; however, small but statistically significant differences were identified between selected modality pairs—a mean difference of 1.59 mm between MRI black-blood and TTE ascending aorta diameters and 1.26 mm between MRI white-blood and TTE aortic root diameters. Conclusions: Multimodality imaging demonstrates strong agreement in the assessment of aortic diameters and yields comparable aortopathy phenotype distributions when applying the 2021 International Consensus Classification. Nevertheless, small systematic measurement differences between MRI and TTE may be clinically relevant in patients approaching diagnostic or therapeutic thresholds, highlighting the importance of consistent imaging methodology in longitudinal follow-up of BAV-associated aortopathy. Full article

Plants adapt to abiotic stresses by modulating morphological, physiological, and biochemical processes, which constitute the fundamental mechanisms of stress tolerance. Rice is highly susceptible to drought stress at all developmental stages, leading to substantial reductions in growth and yield, signifying the urgent need to develop drought-tolerant rice genotypes. In this study, recombinant inbred lines (RILs) in rice with enhanced drought tolerance were developed through a cross between the high-yielding rice variety BRRI-28 and the commercial variety BINA-7, followed by successive selfing and phenotypic selection. The resulting lines were evaluated using integrated morphological, physiological, biochemical, and anatomical analyses under well-watered (WW) and drought conditions (DC). BRRIdhan-56, a known drought-tolerant variety, was included as a check genotype. Among the tested lines, RIL-3 exhibited superior agronomic performance under DC, including a significantly higher tiller number, plant height, and seed dry weight, and improved root attributes compared with its parental lines and, for several traits, exceeding those of BRRIdhan-56. Leaf rolling was absent in RIL-3 and the check variety until the 23rd day of drought stress, whereas other genotypes exhibited varying degrees of stress symptoms. Panicle exertion under DC was observed exclusively in RIL-3 and the check. Although all genotypes showed reductions in biomass, relative water content, and chlorophyll levels under DC, RIL-3 consistently maintained higher values than its parental lines and comparable or superior levels to the check variety. Notably, RIL-3 exhibited a distinctive physiological response characterized by sustained chlorophyll retention and low proline accumulation under severe drought, in contrast to the high proline levels observed in sensitive lines. A root anatomical analysis further revealed well-developed aerenchyma formation in RIL-3 following drought treatment, supporting its drought tolerance. Together, these results demonstrate that RIL-3 combines an enhanced drought tolerance with a stable agronomic and yield-related performance and a unique physiological trait profile under drought stress, highlighting its potential value as a promising genotype for drought-tolerance breeding programs. Full article

Phosphorus, a non-renewable nutrient and limiting factor for crop growth, has drawn considerable attention due to the need to improve its use efficiency. Intercropping enhances phosphorus use efficiency by increasing biodiversity, thereby maintaining high productivity and ecosystem sustainability. The primary mechanisms through which intercropping systems enhance phosphorus uptake and utilization in crops encompass adaptive modifications in root morphology, the secretion of a variety of root exudates (including organic acids, phytosiderophores, and phosphatases), and the recruitment of beneficial microorganisms, such as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). In this context, the remodeling of root architecture increases the soil contact area, while root exudates not only directly mobilize soil phosphorus reserves but also supply energy and signaling molecules to microorganisms, facilitating the targeted assembly of rhizosphere communities. These microorganisms further augment phosphorus transport and uptake through a series of processes involving “chemical dissolution, enzymatic mineralization, and hyphal transport.” This review systematically explores the synergistic interaction between root architecture and exudates in promoting efficient phosphorus utilization, with the aim of enhancing the understanding of the regulatory mechanisms governing subterranean inter root interactions. Future research should investigate the biological underpinnings of subterranean interactions within intercropping systems that improve phosphorus efficiency. This can be achieved by concentrating on gene interaction networks associated with phosphorus uptake, transport, and utilization; rhizosphere metabolites; beneficial functional microorganisms; real-time monitoring of high-throughput phenotypes; and simulations and optimizations based on artificial intelligence. Full article

The olive tree hosts diverse endophytic fungi that may contribute to plant protection and growth. In this study, a preliminary screening of olive-associated fungal endophytes was conducted. A total of 67 fungal endophytes were isolated from the leaves and roots of the Greek cultivars Amfissa and Kalamon and identified using morphological and molecular approaches; 28 representative strains were selected for functional evaluation. Dual culture assays revealed substantial antagonistic activity against major phytopathogens, with growth inhibition ranging from 19.05% to 100%. Notably, strains F.KALl.8 and F.AMFr.15 showed the strongest suppression across pathogens. Interaction phenotyping revealed all major interaction types (A, B, C) and subtype C1/C2, with several strains producing pigmentation zone lines or hyphal ridges at contact sites. The assessment of plant growth-related effects using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system showed that three strains (F.AMFr.15, F.KALr.4, F.KALr.38A) significantly increased seedling biomass (up to ~16% above the control), whereas nine strains caused severe growth reduction and disease symptoms. Beneficial strains also altered root architecture, inhibiting primary root elongation while inducing extensive lateral root formation. Collectively, these findings highlight the functional diversity of olive-associated fungal endophytes and identify promising candidate strains, particularly F.AMFr.15 (identified as Clonostachys sp.), for further host-specific validation as potential biological control and plant growth-promoting agents. Full article

Selecting high-quality seeds is an effective approach for increasing wheat yields. Phenotype-based seed selection has emerged in recent years as a simple and convenient method. However, due to the irregular shape of seeds, accurately measuring shape parameters via imaging for seed viability assessment poses certain challenges. This study statistically analyzed the embryo morphology of wheat variety Bainong 207, identifying three predominant phenotypes. The morphological parameters of seeds and embryos were measured for these three phenotypes. Germination tests were conducted on these three categories of wheat in accordance with Chinese national standards. The seeds with Phenotype Ⅰ exhibited the highest germination force (89.33%) and the highest germination percentage (96.00%), representing a statistically significant difference from Phenotype Ⅱ and Ⅲ. Morphological parameters related to seed vigor, including germinative force, germination percentage, seedling height, and root length, were measured. By exploring the relationship between embryo phenotypes and wheat seed viability and yield potential, principles and considerations for wheat seed selection based on embryo phenotypes were discussed. The YOLOv8 model was employed to classify wheat seeds with different embryo phenotypes. Under the global labeling of seeds, the classification accuracy for the three categories reached 99.9%. Classification results from various labeling methods were compared, validating the feasibility of machine vision for seed selection and providing technical support for large-scale wheat seed improvement. Full article

In Romania’s wild flora, several Iris species exhibit important ornamental characteristics, such as early spring flowering and resilience to abiotic stress. This study assessed the behavior to new ecological conditions, the ornamental potential, and the antioxidant capacity of the wild species of Iris brandzae using morpho-anatomical, physiological, and biochemical biomarkers. The study of phenotypic characteristics (number and size of leaves on sterile and fertile shoots, size of flowering stems, bracts protecting the flowers, and perianth-segments) aimed to confirm and supplement existing information in the literature, as well as to evaluate the ornamental potential of this species. Morphological analyses revealed clear differences between fertile and sterile shoots, while photosynthetic activity across phenophases showed values within normal parameters, with the maximum recorded during flowering and with the chlorophyll a/chlorophyll b ratio maintained at values close to 3:1, indicating favorable cultivation conditions. Biochemical investigations (total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity) demonstrated that dried plant material, particularly roots, contained higher levels of phenolic and flavonoid compounds and exhibited stronger antioxidant activity compared to fresh material. By integrating morpho-anatomical, physiological, and biochemical data, this research provides the first comprehensive characterization of I. brandzae beyond taxonomic and ecological descriptions. Our findings emphasize the species behavior under cultivation conditions, its ornamental value, and its potential as a source of bioactive compounds relevant to pharmaceutical applications. Full article

Light intensity strongly influences the morphological development and photoprotective responses of in vitro plantlets, yet the optimal conditions for hydrangea remain undefined. This study investigated the effects of five light intensity gradients (TrA: 80–120 lux, TrB: 380–480 lux, TrC: 1500–1800 lux, TrD: 3800–4000 lux, TrE: 6000–6400 lux) on Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Qingtian’ plantlets. Plantlets exhibited optimal growth at TrB, showing maximal biomass, leaf expansion, chlorophyll content, and root activity, accompanied by low antioxidant enzyme activities and soluble sugar levels. Nutrient accumulation was greater under low light than under high light conditions. Transcriptome analysis of treatments (TrB and TrE) with marked phenotypic differences revealed 7119 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Of these, 4582 genes were up-regulated and 2537 were down-regulated. The up-regulated genes were significantly enriched in pathways related to cell walls, the microtubule cytoskeleton, and developmental processes, which are involved in the plant growth and development process, such as photosynthesis, nutrient ion transport and regulation, as well as plant hormone responses and transport; whereas the down-regulated genes were significantly enriched in pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism, oxidoreductase activity, and glutathione metabolism, suggesting that high light stress impairs growth by disrupting carbon and antioxidant processes. These results demonstrated that 380–480 lux is the optimal light intensity for ‘Qingtian’ Hydrangea macrophylla in vitro plantlets. This study provides a foundation for optimizing culture conditions and offers new insights into the molecular regulation of light-responsive genes. Full article

In this study, Hedychium coccineum tetraploid plants and octaploid plants induced by colchicine were used as materials. The ploidy levels were precisely identified by combining root tip squash and flow cytometry analyses, and the differences between plants of different ploidy levels were systematically investigated at cytological, morphological, and molecular levels. The results showed that the highest polyploid induction efficiency was achieved when callus tissues were treated with 0.1 g/L colchicine for 4 days. The fluorescence peak value of the induced plants was twice that of the tetraploids, confirming their octaploid status. Compared with tetraploids, octaploid plants exhibited almost no apparent dormancy period, significantly slower growth, earlier flowering, and notably smaller inflorescences. Morphologically, they showed a dwarf phenotype characterized by narrower and lighter-colored leaves, fewer leaves per shoot, shorter internodes, and wider leaf angles, along with enhanced stress tolerance. Cytological observation revealed that cell area in internode tissues at the bud and seedling stages was generally larger in tetraploids than in octaploids, suggesting a reduction in cell size following genome duplication. Furthermore, transcriptome comparison between tetraploids and octaploids identified HcPCNA1 as a candidate gene closely associated with plant height. Functional validation showed that overexpression of HcPCNA1 in Arabidopsis thaliana significantly increased plant height, whereas silencing of HcPCNA1 in H. coccineum via Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) resulted in a distinct dwarf phenotype with smaller leaves. Cytological and molecular evidence together indicate that HcPCNA1 may influence plant height in H. coccineum through its role in promoting cell division and elongation. This finding provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying plant architecture development in polyploid species. Full article

Fruit size is a key trait in small-fruit breeding, yet its measurement remains labor intensive and prone to human error. To address this, we developed a non-destructive, automated size measurement system based on machine vision and LabVIEW, designed for small fruits such as cherry, blueberry, and walnut. The system integrates a modular architecture, including flat-field correction, calibration, and pattern matching sub-VIs, to ensure user-friendly operation. These sub-VIs also enable the system’s core data analysis, such as real-size conversion through calibration and noise reduction for data accuracy through flat-field correction. An optimized image processing pipeline (grayscale conversion, Canny edge detection, morphological operations) enables precise contour extraction, even for fruits with stems or irregular surfaces. The system supports multi-species adaptation through lightweight parameter adjustments, without hardware modification. Experiments involved 15 samples per species (cherry ‘Tieton’, blueberry ‘Northland’, walnut ‘Xiangling’). A gold-standard protocol was established using a pre-calibrated digital caliper operated by two experienced technicians, with the mean of six replicates per fruit defined as the true value. Results demonstrated low root mean square errors, with coefficients of determination (R²) exceeding 0.98. Paired t-tests confirmed no significant differences from the gold standard. The system achieved a measurement speed of 0.4 s per fruit, six times faster than manual methods, and complied with the precision requirements of GB/T 26906-2024 (Sweet Cherry). This system offers a cost-effective, high-throughput solution for fruit breeding and phenotyping, effectively overcoming the limitations of manual measurement. Full article